Tag Archives: vogue vintage

My first attempt on this Vintage Vogue pattern ended up looking something like a pasty blue pillow case. The second incarnation was far more successful. Granted I didn’t add the collar, disregarded the skirt pattern, and raised the waistline about 4 inches, but an axe with three new blades and 5 new handles is still the same axe.

I had to stitch and restitch the skirt three times because I wasn’t using the recommended fabric. My second attempt included some tulle to support a full skirt. It wasn’t so much a throwback to On the Town as it was bulbous and unflattering. I pulled out the tulle to allow the gathered cotton to fall more naturally. The gathering was, however, too dense for the light fabric, so there was little improvement. Normally I would have given up, but the fabric was just too beautiful to turn into another pot holder.

After my fourth attempt the skirt sat flat with just two pleats at the front and some tapering down the back. It was as much a pencil skirt as my hips would allow. After two insertions of the zipper and restitching darts 5 times, the end result is something reminiscent of an Elvis Presley Hawaii movie circa 1962. This is actually kind of great being I am recently in possession of several of these gems.

Lesson learned about patterns:

Use recommended fabric

Pay attention to where the waistlines are designed to sit

Making items bigger with the assumption you can always take it in, can make things worse